In 2025, a 16-year-old Pakistani Christian named Reena took a job at a restaurant to help support her family. An older Muslim man who worked there tried to convert her to Islam repeatedly, but she refused. In January 2026, as she was walking home, she was grabbed and forced into a van. Her family told authorities and tried to confront the man at her workplace but were told Reena had converted to Islam and married him.
Read MoreSince the beginning of 2026, more than two dozen Christians, including converts and church leaders, have been arrested and detained without any charges in a Middle Eastern nation. “Family members haven’t been able to contact them,” said a front-line worker, adding that at least three Christians disappeared without anyone knowing what happened to them. “The situation is bad. Families are struggling.”
Read MoreOn Dec. 24, 2025, Muslim leaders insisted on an official ban and pressured a local pastor in West Java province to cancel his church’s planned holiday worship services. Religious and government leaders cited the potential for attacks from radical Islamist groups but could not identify a specific threat. While a public announcement was made that the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations were canceled, the 70-member church decided to continue their services as planned. “I was indeed under pressure in the video [announcing the ban],” said Pastor Irianto Budy.
Read MoreKazakh church leaders are reporting an upswing in harassment during church services by government officials. “In four different churches on the outskirts of Almaty since the end of December, police have showed up, interrupted services and demanded names and IDs,” said a front-line worker. He said that this seems like a new tactic: “In the past, pressure from the government has mostly been against radical Islam, not against churches.”
Read MoreCuban pastor Luis Guillermo Borjas requests urgent prayer for the release of his son from prison on fabricated charges. In June 2025, the pastor’s disabled son, Kevin, was conscripted into the army, an act that the family believes was retribution for their ongoing Christian ministry. Kevin was court-martialed when he could not complete his service and is now being held in a military prison in deplorable conditions without adequate food.
Read MoreChristians in Nigeria are being repeatedly killed and kidnapped by Islamists and bandit groups, even during worship services. In Nov. 2025, around 300 schoolchildren were taken from a Christian school in one state. In Jan. 2026, around 30 people were killed in an attack in the same area. And on Sunday, Jan. 18, 172 Christians were kidnapped as they participated in services inside three different churches in another state. “The situation seems to be getting worse for Christians in Nigeria,” said a front-line worker.
Read MoreIn November 2025, a Nigerien pastor was abducted by Islamists in the middle of the night, driven across the nearby border into Nigeria and taken to a remote area. His captors told him they had brought him to a place where they regularly executed Christians and said they were going to kill him as well. They tied him to a tree and then went to sleep. As they slept, the pastor untied himself and escaped.
Read MoreA front-line worker requests prayer for “divine connections” in sharing the gospel with Muslims. The current spiritual climate in the Middle East is causing many Muslims to seek truth in the Christian faith, but sharing the gospel with them can be risky. “In most countries in the Middle East, it is forbidden to evangelize or pass out tracts in public, with significant risks if caught,” the worker said.
Read MoreIn the crackdown against Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church that began on Jan. 6, 2026, the children of the affected families have been left especially vulnerable. Elder Li Yingqiang and his wife, Zhang Xinyue, were apprehended by police in an early morning raid on their home and have remained in detention. Li Yingqiang has since been charged with “inciting subversion of state power”; charges against Zhang Xinyue have not been disclosed yet. Their two children, ages 11 and 14, were also taken into police custody in the raid and spent the night alone and frightened before they were released into their grandmother’s care.
Read MoreVillagers in Chhattisgarh state reacted violently against local Christians who buried a non-Christian man on their property. The burial of Chamru Ram Salam on Dec. 16, 2025, was conducted according to the rites of a traditional tribal religion. However, because half of Salam’s family, including three of his five sons, are Christian, the mob called the burial an insult to their deities. More than 500 villagers with wooden sticks and slingshots attacked mourners at the grave. Several people were injured, and the family and other Christians fled the village for weeks.
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